Wackford Squeers
This is a sketch that I came across of Wackford Squeers, a character in the book Nickolas Nickleby by Charles Dickens. This sketch drawn by Frederick Barnard of Squeers and emphasizing Wackford Squeers’ cruelness towards students. Wackford Squeers is a character that is not only cruel, but turns repulsively sweet when somebody important enters the room. William Shakespeare wrote about this in one of his plays, King Richard III. Here is a quote from the play that describe Wackford Squeers fully: “And thus I clothe my naked villainy . . . and seem a saint, when most I play the devil.”
I’m very fond of Wackford Squeers, but only because he is a great character from a great novel. I reread Nicholas Nickleby last summer with friends. If you get a chance, perhaps you can track down the RSC production of NN from around 1981. It’s about eight hours long and does not skip much. The original illustrations are very good. I can’t remember if they are by PHIZ (Hablot K. Brown) or Cruikshank, or someone else.
I enjoy your emails. I hope you get to read a lot of Dickens.